Grant Becomes a Roboticist - BWF

It’s never too early to start thinking about internships and 6-year-old wish kid Grant probably already has one for his future resume.

The playful child from Vienna, VA, has a mind for engineering. He’s fascinated to learn about how things are built and work; so much so, that his favorite activities include building with Legos, playing on Roblox and with robot games. After watching a documentary about robots, Grant’s obsession with learning about them and building one of his own began.

Despite Grant’s energetic spirit, his road to recovery from leukemia has been anything but easy. His family rallied around him in support and if there’s anybody who can relate to his struggles, it’s his dad, Lucas. Lucas had leukemia at a young age as well and was offered the opportunity to have his wish granted to have an all-day game adventure. Remembering how much joy he derived from the experience, he and Grant’s mom, Claire, were very excited about Grant getting the same opportunity.

When he was asked by his wish granters to describe his perfect day, Grant’s requests were definitive: to eat a huge chocolate cake, challenge everyone to a robot boxing battle and have all his friends in attendance. The biggest desire of these three was to build a robot so Grant ultimately wished to be a roboticist!

The family arrived at the KID Museum in Bethesda, MD, ready for a day full of fun, education and celebration. After touring the museum and having a lunch of Grant’s favorite foods (including a big chocolate cake), he had the opportunity to work with the FIRST robotics team to build a robot. Each team member took their time explaining the processes and showing the mechanics and Grant was thrilled to see it all in action. He was often so overcome with joy that he would jump up and down; at one point he even told the team with a wide smile, “if a kid jumps around like this, it usually means they are happy and excited – and I’m both!”

Now that Grant is in remission, he’ll be able to look back on his wish day (or what he described as “the best day ever”) with hope for his bright future and a successful robotics career!

A special thanks to Boeing, FIRST Robotics, the KID Museum and A Ghra Photography for providing Grant with an unforgettable wish day.